Rodger Brogdon and his Owens Corning Chevrolet Camaro were winners even before final eliminations for the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals began.

Brogdon's Camaro was voted Best Appearing Car at the U.S. Nationals, and he and his team were honored before driver introductions Monday at Lucas Oil Raceway.

"That's pretty cool," said Brogdon, who later dropped a first-round match to Jason Line. "The ol' Pink Panther car looks pretty sweet, and we're proud to win that award. Thanks to all the guys who designed the paint scheme; they did a helluva job."

Brogdon debuted the car this weekend thanks to a title sponsorship deal with Owens Corning, the world's largest manufacturer of fiberglass and related products and a Fortune 500 company.

Brogdon also unveiled a new Jerry Haas Race Cars Camaro for the U.S. Nationals, and the team continued to develop the car this weekend. He got in the field for drag racing's most prestigious race in the No. 16 qualifying spot, which meant he had to square off against No. 1 qualifier Jason Line.

Line, also the Pro Stock points leader, was fast all week and was fast again in Round 1, making a pass of 6.632 seconds at 208.55 mph. Brogdon pushed the clutch in early and had a 6.867-second pass at 174.46 mph.

"We've had pretty good horsepower this weekend, but that new car has been tough to get a handle on," Brogdon said. "I guess they call that the new-car blues, but we're still trying to figure it out. We know it will be better, so we won't stop working until we get it figured out. We owe it to Owens Corning to do that.

"That car will look even better when we get it going faster, that's for sure."

Brogdon will return to action at the NHRA Carolina Nationals on Sept. 12-14 at zMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C.

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